Wednesday 13th March, 2019

CAPE TOWN, March 13
(Xinhua/GNA) - The South African government will continue to pursue land
expropriation without compensation until land is returned to those who were
forced to be deprived of it, Deputy President David Mabuza, has said.

Land expropriation
without compensation will not stop because of opposition, Mabuza said while
answering questions in Parliament.

However, this must be
done within the confines of the Constitution and the rule of law so as to avoid
illegal land invasion, he said.

Mabuza rejected claims
that land expropriation without compensation will negatively impact the economy.

Land reform will be
used to enhance the agriculture sector, he said.

"On a daily
basis, we are engaging farmers and encouraging them to donate land for
redistribution," Mabuza said, adding that some business leaders in the
mining sectors have donated land as their contribution to the land reform
program.

"As government, we
are relieving land that is in the hands of the state in order to advance the
objectives of land reform," he added.

He urged those who are
against expropriation of land without compensation to desist from dividing
South Africans along racial lines.

Opponents to land
reform argue that the process will drive away white farmers, threaten food
security and negatively impact the economy.

But the government has
repeatedly assured that it will promote the land reform without destabilizing
the agricultural sector, endangering food security in the country, or
undermining economic growth and job creation.

About 25 years after
the end of apartheid, the minority whites still own most of the land in South
Africa.

The ruling African
National Congress (ANC) has been under fire for the lack of political will to
address the land issue.

Since taking power in
February 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa has been trumpeting land expropriation
without compensation, drawing from opponents at home and abroad.

Amid mounting concern,
Parliament has given the green light to amending section 25 of the Constitution
to pave way for land expropriation without compensation.

A bill is expected to
be introduced to legalize the process following a parliamentary debate later
this year.